Deputies: Man Twisted 2-Year-Old Boy's Nipples Off

NEW PORT RICHEY | Deputies arrested a man Tuesday after, they say, he twisted a 2-year-old boy's nipples so hard they came off.

By Alex OrlandoTampa Bay Times

NEW PORT RICHEY | Deputies arrested a man Tuesday after, they say, he twisted a 2-year-old boy's nipples so hard they came off.

The boy was in the care of Thomas Gordon Matheson, 27, on Friday night while the boy's mother was at work, a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report states. Matheson would later tell deputies he and the boy were "playing rough," the report states, when he grabbed the boy's nipples and twisted them.

The toddler's grandmother saw the injuries and called the Sheriff's Office.

Though the boy was shirtless, the report states, Matheson told deputies he didn't notice the child's injuries until later that night.

The toddler was taken to Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, where doctors said the skin was unlikely to grow back, the report said.

Matheson, of 7280 Broadmoor Drive, Apartment 4, was charged with child abuse. He remained Wednesday at the Land O'Lakes jail without bail.